Klingon
Created by: Gene Roddenberry, and riffed on by every fan. This is the Vista City version *'Appearance:' None as of yet. they have been seen at a distance. *'Number of Members:' Approx 4 billion *'Nature of Members: ''Klingons --''' Humanoids standing 1.7 meters on average. They are typified by brow ridges that increase the nasal area giving them a heightened sense of smell. Their skin tends toward a swarthy oiled look. Klingons are from a humid jungle environment and have nether good distance vision or much tolerance for cold. Most Klingon vital body functions incorporate multiple redundancies, such as multi-chambered and or lobed stomachs, lungs, livers, an eight-chambered heart, and twenty-three ribs. This characteristic, known as brak'lul, makes Klingons incredibly resilient. Klingon ribs are arranged in a latticework. Klingon teeth are serrated, with multiple edges and ridges well suited to eating raw meat. Klingons are not stronger than Humans on average. The strength advantage is from the high degree of physical training that Klingons receive in their youth. Humans will vary across a vast range of ability. Klingon to the last have honed their bodies to the best performance they can achieve as a matter of survival. Klingons do have a denser bone mass and are 20% heavier than a human of the same height and build. They are not great swimmers. Klingons do not have the Human adrenalin reaction. Fight or flight in a Klingon is a trained response. They are taught from a young age to focus their senses, to concentrate on the area around them, to know the targets and threats in that area. This is called wamnoch or the hunting sense. Part of this is the Klingon's ability to sense when another Klingon intends to kill them. This sense can fail with other species that have differing body language. It is a great tactic for an area of limited visibility such as a Jungle. It does leave the Klingons open to sniping form a distance. Klingons not being stupid have trained warriors for distance combat to cover for the close melee fighters. Klingons are mammals. Females are typically well endowed and the current culture is to show that off as much as possible while maintaining Honor. Klingon pregnancy lasts 30 weeks. Labor is difficult and can last several days. Klingon parents are devoted and protective of their young. Klingon childhood is likewise quick, they reach full growth and sexual maturity by the age of 12. Klingon children are self sufficient by the age of three. While a child that age is not much larger than its Human equivalent they are stronger and more coordinated. A three year old Klingon can if necessary hunt and fend for itself. Clients: There are 2 client races inside the Klingon Empire currently. The Cowar and the sutwl'. Cowar are mammals of a similar size to Klingons. They have true back skin and white hair. They are recent clients. Sutwl' arrived with Orions before Klingons even had space flight. Sutwl' are smallish humanoids descended from forest herbivores. It is considered dishonorable to even strike one so low is their status. *'Organization:' Feudal Clan. Klingon government within the Empire is administered by a group of loosely affiliated clans called Houses. Houses are further ranked by size and importance. First Rank Houses: There are 32 first ranked Houses. These are the Houses that have a seat on the Imperial Council. They can be depended on being the largest and most powerful houses in the Empire. The traditional number for over 500 years has been 32. The number of the Companions of Kahless the Unforgettable, Second Rank Houses: These houses are nearly the equal of the First rank houses and usually the main difference is they lack a council seat. They are always looking for the mighty to fall so they can advance. These must either use force or allies to get a voice in the council. Third Rank Houses: These will generally hold little land and have few warriors in their service.. Enough at least to defend that land. These houses do not have enough force to get their way and must seek allies among the First Rank houses to get their agenda heard. Unranked Houses: Below third rank the rankings are pointless. The unranked houses will be anything from the remnants of Great Houses to upstart Line Founders with a hand full of warriors and an attitude. The goal of these houses is to amass sufficient force to get a First Rank house to ally with them so they can get a voice in the council. Clients: These conquered races are usually considered below honor. The Klingon Empire is not the homogeneous political unit that outsiders think it is. The interior of the Empire seethes with private wars between houses, feuds, and vendettas. Klingons are direct. They don't sneak around, they attack! Even conflict, or peace with an outside power is not an assured unified matter. *'Game Role:' Mysterious people 'out there' *'World Role:' Up and coming Galactic power. *'Relative Influence:' Currently zero. There is no contact between the Klingons and Earth. *'Public or Secret?:' Public *'Publicly Stated Goal:' Honor and Glory! *'Real Goal, if different:' No, and that is scary. *'Economy:' Klingons tend to think of money last. Smart Klingons watch the money. They flail along with an industrial style money system that is starting to fail them. The Klingon value system also makes seeing that people are prosperous and well cared for as a low priority. If they are worthy they will survive. The weak will be weeded out and we will be stronger. The end result is that most production ends up in the trappings of power, ships and armies, and little is seen in infrastructure development. Most Klingons and Klingon clients live a hand to mouth existence. *'Area of Operation:' Toward the galactic center from Earth *'Headquarters Location:' Q'onoS, the Klingon home world. *'Public Face:' It is a good day to die. *'Notable Members:Kahless the Unforgettable:'' First emperor of the Klingon Empire, Kahless united his people some 1,300 years ago (Earth date 625 CE) by defeating the Tyrant Molor. He set the standard for the conduct of honor and strength all Klingons live by. After delivering the laws of honor in later life, Kahless went before his people to tell them that he was leaving to guard Sto-Vo-Kor, the afterlife of the honored dead. However, he would return someday to see what they have made of the code of law and honor than he had left them with. *'''History of the Organization: "And though I had slain a thousand foes less one, The thousandth knife found my liver; The thousandth enemy said to me, 'Now you shall die, Now none shall know.' And the fool, looking down, believed this, Not seeing, above his shoulders, the naked stars, Each one remembering."** From ancient times the Klingons have been a violent race reveling in the strong emotions. Much of Klingon prehistory is lost, Klingon having little interest in archeology. Most Klingon date history as starting recently in historical terms, from the time of Kahless the Unforgettable, the Klingon that has defined what it means to be Klingon for the past 1400 years. What is known of the time before Kahless comes from Orion sources, which are themselves suspect. The Orions found the old Klingons unsuitable as slaves, but did find it fit to export them as mercenaries, and to trade slaves with them. From this trade came the sutwl', who have been body servants for the Klingons as long as anyone can remember. As the time of Orions was ending came Kahless. Kahless is both a historical figure that is well documented, and a figure of legend that accomplished feats beyond mortal ability. Tales are told of the 10 day and 10 night battle with his brother over a lie. How when this same brother threw his Father's sword into the sea Kahless held his breath three days to find it. Klingon legend says they slew their gods when the gods proved unworthy. Klingons have made a god of Kahless in their place. Five hundred years after Kahless came the greatest threat the Klingons ever knew, the Hur'q. In the late industrial age the Hur'q, a Klingon word for "outsider" invaded Qo'noS itself. The hit and run raiders took all they could and destroyed what they could not take. This time the Klingons would not be passive as they were to the Orions. The Hur'q were driven off Qo'noS. The Klingon took the technology left by those Hur'q that didn't move fast enough and reverse engineered the ships and drives. Within two generations they had puzzled out the secrets of subspace from the incomplete picture left to them. The Road to Glory in the Naked Stars was open. *'Culture:' Klingons are a warrior race. Each and every one will tell you that. Klingons revel in the strong emotions that Humans seek to control and Vulcans to eliminate. Life is short, grasp it with both hands and live like tomorrow will never come. You will not get out alive so you might as well go in style. The structure of Klingon life is similar in many ways to that of Feudal Japan of Earth, but with the attitude towards life of the Mongols or the Norse cultures of that same world. The most important concept in Klingon culture is Honor. If one is without Honor one is worse than an animal. Honor is a combination of ethics and reputation that describes the Klingon's place in society and how he views himself. Your honor also reflects on your family as your family's honor reflects on you. It behooves you to see to the Honor of your brothers, and they to see to yours. Klingon society is divided into castes. The most familiar of those is the Warrior Caste. However they would be a short lived phenomenon if all there were was warriors. There are many castes, craftsman, merchants, laborers and so forth. Each striving to gain Honor in the profession they are in. *'Magic:' As one might expect magic is used to gain advantage in battle. The average warrior will see the users of magic is less honorable in that they "cheat" to win, accessing forces than the average warrior does not understand. This however does not translate to a cavilar attitude towards the master of battle magic. Naked fear is mopre like it. They are great to have on your side, dreaded on the other. The great masters can move without moving and strike deadly blows from across the room. *'Psionics:' If the average Klingon is uneasy about magic, they are in a naked panic over psionics. Traditionally psionics has been a woman’s tool. The Mind Witches are rumored to be about to crawl into your heart and alter it without you knowledge. To turn you against the things you honor and love. Far more fearful than mere battle and death. The openness of this caste of women has varied throughout history. The vaguest rumor states that at one point they ruled the Klingons before the coming of Kahless. Some will credit him with their destruction of taming. Wiser head know their power waned long before he arrived. Their current state in society is unknown. *'Languages:' tlhInganHol is the official language throughout the Empire. Native languages are suppressed among the clients. Category:Alien Races Category:Aliens Category:Space